


Homecoming

by days_of_storm



Series: The Words Not Spoken [3]
Category: My Engineer (TV)
Genre: Emotional Roller Coaster, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Idiots in Love, King's POV, Lots of kissing, M/M, Pining, Pre-Slash, Ram takes King to the gym, Resolved Sexual Tension, SO MUCH FLUFF, Shower Sex, Slash, Unresolved Sexual Tension, missing each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 04:01:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26346769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/days_of_storm/pseuds/days_of_storm
Summary: King has been gone for ten days, spending time with his grandmother in the north while Ram stayed at his condo. Coming home will mean a change in their relationship, but King is very unsure about what that change might look like. (Kind of a sequel to The Sound of Silence)
Relationships: King/Ram (My Engineer)
Series: The Words Not Spoken [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863481
Comments: 26
Kudos: 181





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mazarin221b](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazarin221b/gifts), [cynical_ravenclaw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cynical_ravenclaw/gifts).



> This will have two chapters. The rating will go up for the second one ;)

King knew he should have said no. He had known it the moment Ram had suggested it, but he didn’t have the heart to disappoint him. 

***

The ten days King spent at his grandmother’s house had been the best and simultaneously the worst ten days he could remember enduring. He replanted what felt like half of her garden, spent the evenings drinking self-made lemongrass ice tea and looking at the stars from her veranda. They cooked together – after he admitted that he still didn’t know how to cook – and his grandmother had given him such a telling look that he knew she believed it was because he wanted to cook for someone else. Someone, whose absence was physically painful and very, very obvious. 

After four days and seven dishes he had learned to cook, he admitted his feelings for Ram to her. She just smiled and nodded and acted like she had known all along what he would say. That night, he couldn’t sleep, because she was the first person who knew what he felt, while he still wasn’t sure how much he had told Ram. That night they had first kissed was a little blurry, after all. And he still wasn’t sure what Ram felt for him. 

He kept replaying their last night together in his head, remembering how utterly gentle Ram had been once he had overcome the initial shock. How good Ram’s lips had felt against his, and how good his hands had felt against his face, his fingers in his hair, and how unbelievably hard it now was that he couldn’t curl up against him and fall asleep in his arms like he had that night.

And then there was that moan. He couldn’t forget that single, small sound Ram had made when he had clasped his sweatshirt and pulled. He couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the sound had been his doing. And that, if things turned out in the way he desperately hoped they would, he would be able to make it happen again. 

King groaned and hid under his blanket, trying not to think of Ram’s body under his hands. 

Every morning, he woke up with a hard on and every morning he snuck into the bathroom, knowing his grandmother was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, and he quietly took care of himself, hating that his body didn’t seem to realise that Ram wasn’t anywhere close by. 

And their texts just added to his frustration. After Ram had admitted that he hadn’t been drunk on that last night, King had spent the entire ride to his grandmother’s house trying to fight down the blush that burned on his cheeks. He hadn’t known what to answer, so he had waited for half the day and then just texted him a picture of his grandmother’s garden, writing how beautiful it was. He did not write how he wished Ram was with him. 

Ram had sent a picture back, showing the empty seat on the bus next to him without a comment and King had felt like crying. 

They said good morning and good night, and shared pictures of food and plants and Ram’s dogs. And while King was happy that Ram was still talking to him, he felt more and more nervous about how things would be once they saw each other again. Would he get to kiss him? Would Ram mind? Was Ram missing him, too, and just hoping for King to make the first move? Was he also touching himself in the mornings, thinking of King? 

King threw the blanket off himself and climbed off the bed, walking to the large window through which he could see the garden, flooded in moonlight. He picked up his phone. _“I miss you.”_

He pressed send before he could change his mind. 

His heart did something funny when he saw that his message had been read immediately. So, Ram was still awake at 4am? 

King saw the three little hateful, beautiful dots that indicated that Ram was writing, but he took his time and King wondered if he should write something else in the meantime, yet he feared that Ram wouldn’t write at all if he did that.

 _“I miss you.”_ Ram finally texted back and King squinted at the screen. 

_“Are you just repeating what I am saying again?”_ he asked, hating that he couldn’t see Ram’s face to see whether he was serious or not. 

_“No.”_

_“Oh, I’m glad, then.”_

_“Are you?”_

King sighed. _“I feel less lonely.”_

Silence. 

_“Why are you awake?”_ King wrote, unwilling to have the conversation end there. 

_“Not sure.”_

_“If you want to, you can sleep on the balcony. The moon is lovely tonight.”_

_“Already there.”_

Oh. King imagined Ram lying in his little cocoon, surrounded by plants, staring up at the moon. He wondered what his eyes looked like right now. 

_“Good night.”_ He texted and put his phone away. He leaned out of the window to stare at the moon, missing Ram so much it almost choked him. 

The next few days his grandma kept him busy with shopping and visiting friends and he helped her to fix the roof of her garden shed and, after he had done that, she taught him more dishes. He wrote every recipe down in a notebook, trying to catch every anecdote and important side remark his grandmother was making. 

“What is the first thing you will cook for him, hmm?” she asked, and he was so busy thinking about it that he only realised what she had asked after he had already answered. She fully expected Ram to stay with him after his return. And she sounded so sure. King desperately wanted to be that certain. 

“Bring him with you, next time?” She asked, petting his cheek a little, looking at him as if he had disappointed her by not bringing him along in the first place. 

“I don’t know if he’ll …”

“Oh, nonsense. Look at you, King. How could he not want to be with you?”

“It’s not that,” King returned, shaking his head. “It’s just that I waited so long to tell him, and it wasn’t … the best way to do it. I pushed him. Several times. And I yelled at him. I blamed him for making me feel awful and it wasn’t right.”

“That was before you kissed him and he kissed you back, hmm?” she asked with a raised eyebrow and began washing rice. 

King nodded. 

“And he’s still talking to you.”

Another nod.

“Then stop being silly and bring him along next time.”

King rubbed his face and sniffed. “I’ll do my best.”

On the last day, his grandma had him driven to the train station, but she came along, too, to say goodbye. She handed him a large bag with food and snacks and a small parcel which was securely tied with a string. “This is for him.”

“I can’t peek?”

She smiled. “You’re a good boy, King.”

King scowled at her, but couldn’t keep it up for long. He hugged her for a long time and then got onto the train, waving at her as it pulled out of the station. 

_“I’m on the train home.”_

_“When will you be home?”_

King tried to ignore the fact that his heart fluttered at Ram’s use of _home_. He checked the schedule. _“Around five, if nothing is delayed.”_

_“I might not be home when you arrive.”_

King felt his stomach drop. _“Why?”_

_“That’s my gym time.”_

_“And you absolutely have to go?”_

Ram didn’t answer for a very long time and King wondered whether he was trying to hide from him. Maybe Ram did not want to be home when King returned. Maybe he wanted to keep off the awkward first meeting for as long as possible. 

_“I can wait a bit. But I have to go today.”_

_“Good.”_

Another long silence followed and King tried not to read between the lines. 

_“Come with me, maybe?”_ Ram texted him a couple of hours later. 

King stared at the text. Ram wanted him to come to the gym with him? He wanted him to watch him lift weights and maybe punch someone and … oh god. He couldn’t, could he? And what if he wanted him to work out, too? Would he expect him to go through his routine with him? This was a very, very bad idea. 

_“I don’t have any gym clothes.”_

_“Yes, you do. I’m packing them for you right now.”_

Oh god. He put his phone away and tried to sleep. He tried to wrap his head around the fact that very soon, he’d be surrounded by the noise and the smog of the city, and it would be hotter in Bangkok, and more humid. And he would see Ram. In a gym. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to push away the mental images that emerged. 

The train was on time and King left it with a wildly beating heart. 

***

When King unlocked his front door, he was sure he was going to faint. His heart had not calmed down and his stomach had been in knots since he had stepped out of the cab downstairs. Now his hands were shaking as he put down his keys. 

“Ram?” he called, somewhat disappointed that he hadn’t been standing in the hallway, waiting for him. 

And then he walked around the corner from the kitchen, wearing one of King’s t-shirts, slacks and no socks, his hair down and with dark circles under his eyes, and King wanted to pull him into his arms and never let go of him again. “Welcome home,” Ram said quietly, stopping, too far away from King. 

“Thank you,” King said and kicked off his shoes. 

“Are you tired?” Ram asked, still calm and collected, as if he had never thought that their meeting would go any different. 

“I’m fine,” King swallowed. “I have a couple of snacks left over, if you want any,” he held up the bag. 

“After the gym.” Ram smiled a little and King took a couple of tentative steps forward. 

“Are we going right now?”

“So, you _are_ coming with me?” Ram’s smile widened a little. King wondered why Ram was so happy about it. 

He nodded, his eyes lingering on Ram's shoulders. This was a bad idea. 

“Okay,” Ram picked up a gym bag. “Let’s go. You can take a shower there, if you want.”

King put on his shoes again and followed Ram outside, disproportionally disappointed that they hadn’t even touched. 

They walked to the gym, and King felt like he was wasting precious time, but he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. He couldn’t blame Ram for being typically silent either, because even when he talked to him, he rarely started a conversation on his own. He was surprised when Ram’s entire demeanour changed as soon as they entered the gym. He greeted the man at the front desk, handed over his membership card and paid for King’s visit. They received locker keys, a bottle of water and a towel each, and Ram led him through a couple of corridors until they reached the locker room. 

It was smaller than King had anticipated, but quite crowded, and when Ram put down the gym bag and pulled off his t-shirt, King had a hard time trying to take it all in. He opened the bag, looking for the clothes Ram had packed for him. Sweatpants and a t-shirt. Of course. He did wear workout clothes a lot, only, he didn’t work out in them. He just slept in them.

He had to chuckle and when he met Ram’s eyes, he knew Ram had known he would be amused. Ram elbowed him gently and suddenly King had to hold himself back from simply hugging him. But Ram was about to take off his slacks and there was absolutely no way King would hug him, standing there only in underwear, surrounded by half a dozen other gym members. So he began to undress as well, ignoring Ram as best as he could. 

“Ready?” Ram’s voice startled him a little and he nodded, putting the bag into the locker and pushing the key into the pockets of his sweat pants. 

“Okay, my usual rota is warm up first, then a couple of laps around the ring, stretching, boxing, weights.”

“And …”

“And you can do whatever you want. But it would be nice if you could help me with boxing and the weights later.”

King nodded and Ram smiled again, a full on, happy smile. King knew he would do anything to make Ram smile at him like this again. 

He followed him to the side of the gym and tried to copy his movements. Within minutes, he was more certain than ever that this had been a bad idea. Watching Ram warming up while trying to get his body to do the same only led him to realise how out of shape he was and how much tighter Ram’s workout clothes were in comparison to what he usually wore. 

“Come on,” Ram touched his wrist gently before taking off. He jogged around the boxing ring, drawing as wide a circle around it as he could without running into other equipment or people. After the first lap, King joined him. He was better at running than stretching and began to enjoy it all, until Ram began running a little faster and he found it impossible not to stare at his arse as he ran slightly ahead of him. 

When Ram looked over his shoulder, slightly flushed with exertion, and flashed him a grin, King knew with absolute certainty that he should be at home, on his couch, eating the final snacks his grandmother had packed him instead of being right here. 

King managed a few more laps before he began feeling light headed and he excused himself, claiming that he needed the bathroom. He knew he couldn’t hide there forever, but almost drowning himself in cold water helped him a little to calm down. 

Ram was still running when he returned, but stopped soon after, wiping his face with the towel he had been given. “You did not stretch,” he told King. “Come on, you don’t want to be sore tomorrow.”

King almost said that he did not mind but then he realised how that might sound and he closed his mouth again, knowing he was blushing. Ram began stretching and King was quite certain that he wasn’t cut out for being in the gym with Ram. He tried to copy him a little, but eventually he sat down on the ground and simply watched him. He had reached a point where he knew that he would tell Ram the truth if he asked him why he was staring. 

He sat cross legged on the floor, the boxing ring in his back, and his towel strategically bunched together in his lap. He hoped that Ram wouldn’t want him to get up anytime soon. 

“I’ll get taped up,” Ram announced after what felt like an hour of teasing to King. He breathed a sigh of relief when Ram disappeared from his line of sight and then he began to talk himself down. There were other people around, he reminded himself. This was a public place. 

It was the sudden and shocking thought that Ram had immediately taken them both out of the privacy of the condo and here, into a room full of other people, that made him forget his arousal. What if Ram had been afraid to be alone with him?

His fears immediately dissipated when Ram returned, looking oh so much like he had on the day of his and Bohn’s fight. He wasn’t wearing any protective gear on his head, and neither was he wearing the silk shorts, but he had gotten rid of his t-shirt. King swallowed and got up immediately, knowing from Ram’s look that he expected him to help. 

“What can I do?” he asked, wondering why he sounded breathless when he had been the one resting. 

Ram led him to one of the punching bags in the corner. “Just hold it still so that it doesn’t swing too much. If I hit too hard, tell me.”

King nodded and positioned himself behind the punching bag, taking hold of it with both hands. Ram smiled at him before he began to feign a few punches, his feet moving quickly, in a pattern King didn’t understand. Then the first punch hit and King took an involuntary step back. 

“Are you okay?” Ram immediately stopped moving. 

“Sorry, it just caught me by surprise,” King said and took hold of the bag again. Ram gave him a strange look before he began moving again. The next time he hit, King was prepared. The bag absorbed most of the punches, but after a while, King began to feel them in his arms. 

Ram was sweating by now, breathing measuredly but loudly, and King knew the inevitable would come. A couple of minutes later, Ram’s breaths turned into grunts and King had to concentrate hard on his surroundings as to not simply let go of the bag and walk straight into the bathroom. Finally, Ram seemed to have had enough and he stepped around the bag to look at King. His face and chest were covered in sweat and flushed and King was growing desperate. 

It wasn’t fair to fantasise about him for such a long time and then to be this close to him with him looking like this and not being able to touch him. 

“Are you okay?” Ram asked again, and this time, King shook his head. 

“I need to go home,” he said and walked away, leaving the towel and the water where they were. He took his clothes out and pushed the gym bag back into the locker. Then he walked back into the gym and, realising that Ram couldn’t take the key from him with his hands still in boxing gloves, he pushed it into a pocket of his shorts. 

Ram looked … unimpressed. King avoided looking at his face again and simply walked out, not even saying goodbye to the man at the front desk. He walked straight home as fast as he could, unlocked the door, dropped his clothes to the ground, and leaned against the door after he had closed it. Then he grunted in frustration and let himself sink to the floor. 

None of this was going how he had wanted it to go. Or at least expected it to go. But this? This hadn’t been anywhere on his agenda. At all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3

A knock startled him. He rose from the floor and opened the door, expecting a neighbour to check in on him, or maybe his sister, who knew he would return on the day and would undoubtedly show up at some point. 

It was Ram. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, his gym bag over his shoulder and one of the water bottles in his hands. He held it out to King. “You forgot this,” he said between breaths. 

King stared at him, wondering how fast he must have been running to catch up with him so quickly. Then he remembered the orange juice bottle he had procured after their first … date? Maybe Ram was a much better runner than he had thought. Maybe he had been quite slow at the gym in order not to leave King behind. 

He stepped out of Ram’s way and held the door open for him, toeing off his shoes. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure whether he would be disproportionally angry or sad if he tried. He couldn’t allow himself to get to a point where he yelled at Ram again, or pushed him. 

Ram kicked off his shoes and pulled off the shirt he had put on again for his way home and wiped his face and chest with it. “Shower?” he asked, and King couldn’t move. 

“What?” 

Ram swallowed hard and looked at his feet for a moment before he lifted his eyes again. He looked very shy all of the sudden. “Shower? Together?”

King almost fell against the door as he closed it. Then he did lean against it again, looking at Ram with wide eyes. 

“Say that again?”

Ram huffed. His neck had regained colour it had lost only just a moment ago. He nervously wrung his t-shirt with his fingers and King realised that he never fiddled. His hands were always still when he was quiet. He never nervously played around with anything. And now he did. And he was blushing even harder now. And he was still looking at him from below, as if he was afraid of King’s answer. 

“Shower? Together?” Ram asked once again, his voice a little shaky. 

“Ram,” King started and then stopped, because Ram winced. He realised he had not called him by his nickname once today. He swallowed and started again. “Ram. Did you … plan this?”

The more he thought about it, the more it all fell into place. Ram knew King wanted him. He had told him quite frankly how much he had to control himself around him. And he had been sitting on that knowledge for ten days, alone in this condo. He clearly hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, and then he had … god, he had taken him to the gym to tease him. He had asked King to come along so he would have to watch him get all hot and bothered and sweaty and he had known exactly what that would do to him and he hadn’t stopped him from running away, which he would have, if Ram had behaved like he usually did. 

And now he stood there, bashfully looking at King like he knew he was in trouble but couldn’t quite regret his actions. When the corners of his mouth twitched, King knew that whatever he did, Ram would accept it. 

He pushed himself away from the door and walked right into his arms. Ram grunted when their bodies collided, but his arms immediately settled on King’s back and he held him tightly. King pressed his face against Ram’s neck, the heat his body was giving off almost scalding. He tightened his grip. “Ram?” he finally asked and pulled back just enough to be able to look at him. Ram looked close to tears and King wondered how scared he had been that King would be offended by his actions. 

He wiped the sweat off Ram’s cheeks and forehead with his thumbs, shaking his head in disbelief. “You are killing me,” he said before he finally dared to close the final distance and kiss him. 

Ram inhaled sharply and one hand moved from his back into King’s hair, as if wanting to make sure that he wouldn’t move away again and King had to smile against Ram’s lips, tasting salt. Oh, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

It was during the kiss that King remembered that Ram wasn’t wearing a shirt and he allowed his hands to move down from his shoulders, across his back and then lower, and Ram dropped the shirt he had still been holding on to and did the same. When he reached the small of his back, Ram pulled sharply and King gasped and had to stop kissing Ram, afraid he might accidentally bite him as his attention was drawn elsewhere. 

He could feel him through the soft fabric of his sweat pants and Ram’s shorts, just as Ram was able to feel him, too. When Ram moved his hips a little, King couldn’t quite stop his hands from moving lower. He had wanted to touch his arse for a long time and now he was finally able to, he tried to focus entirely on that for a moment, even though it was hard to ignore their erections between them. 

When he squeezed and pulled Ram even closer, Ram moaned loudly, the sound only stifled a little as he pressed his lips against King’s shoulder. And King couldn’t quite believe his luck. He did it again, and Ram shuddered this time, the hand against the small of his back moving lower, too, and suddenly King felt his legs buckle. He gasped and pulled back a little, realising they had been moving through the hall and were dangerously close to smashing into his flower pots. 

But the moment he let go of his arse and pulled back, Ram took his face between his hands and kissed him again, open mouthed and almost desperate. And King decided that he wouldn’t miss a plant or two as he allowed Ram to push him against the wall, his hands moving lower again, across his chest, driving the air out of his lungs. 

Nothing could have prepared him for that kiss. Nothing could have prepared him for how much his body was craving his touch. How he wanted to be touched everywhere, and how he wanted to touch Ram. And how gorgeous Ram looked when he pulled back, smiling widely at him, his lips red and slightly swollen from the kiss and his hair a sweaty mess. 

King pulled him back in, unable to just look at him and Ram laughed against his lips, relief bubbling over and King knew he was the luckiest man in the world. 

And then a flower pot hit the floor and Ram froze, only to take a step back, his eyes wide with shock. “I’m so sorry,” he began apologising, but King wouldn’t allow him to feel guilty. He pushed forward and captured his lips in another kiss before Ram could crouch down and start picking up shards and dirt. Only when he was sure that Ram wasn’t trying to break the kiss to do that anymore, he let go of him. 

They were both breathing heavily and King knew that they couldn’t stay out here in the hall. His sister might come by and she had the key to his condo and he really did not want her to walk in on them. “You said something about the shower,” he reminded Ram, who cocked his head to look at him with a slightly dazed expression. King was fairly sure that he looked exactly the same. 

“Are you sure?” Ram asked and King frowned, because yes, yes he was sure, how could Ram have any doubt? When Ram sighed and looked away, he realised that he hadn’t answered him and that Ram clearly wasn’t sure about what King wanted. He couldn’t believe that he never really seemed to find the words to say the things that really mattered. 

“I’m sure. I’ve been sure for a while,” he admitted, and Ram’s face lit up, letting lose a kaleidoscope of butterflies in King’s stomach. 

And then Ram took his wrist and pulled him into the bathroom. King closed and locked the door behind him, taking a moment to let it sink in that he was allowed to look now. And to touch. He knew it was useless to try to calm his heart and to wait for his hands to stop shaking. 

“Show me!” he asked, nodding at Ram’s waist. 

Ram’s left eyebrow shot up and King scoffed. “Your tattoo,” he clarified.

Ram laughed again and King couldn’t quite believe how easily it seemed to come to Ram now. He couldn’t believe how Ram had changed entirely within the last ten minutes – well, maybe not changed. But he had let him in further, showing himself without inhibition. And he loved him all the more for it.

And then Ram pushed down his shorts and his underwear and stood naked, except for his socks, in the middle of the bathroom. King swallowed hard, quite aware that he was still fully clothed. And while he was undoubtedly distracted by Ram’s impressive erection, he was equally excited to see the tattoo in its totality. It went down a good two inches below his waist line, and King knew that it must have hurt a lot to get it done. It also meant that the tattoo artist had seen him almost naked and he marvelled at the fact that Ram was so private and closed off to anyone he didn’t trust, but apparently completely open to anyone he did trust. He wondered what the tattoo would feel like in contrast to the soft skin of Ram’s lower belly. 

A moan escaped him before he could hold it back and Ram’s cock twitched. 

“P’King”, Ram started, but before he could say anything else, he was already pulling his shirt off. He hesitated a moment before pulling down the sweat pants and his underwear and he pulled off his socks, too, before he stood up again, looking down at his own very persistent erection. 

And Ram looked. He looked at King as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. As if he was looking at a statue in a museum, trying to take in every detail. King felt himself grow self-conscious under his eyes, but at the same time, he was amazed by how much he loved being looked at like that. 

Finally, Ram pulled off his socks, too, and turned around to step into the shower. King inhaled deeply and joined him. 

“How is your head?” Ram asked, his hand on the faucet. 

King wasn’t sure why in the world Ram was asking about his head, until he reached out to lift his hair away from his scar. He would have to get the thread removed one of these days, but he hadn’t been in any pain at all for the last week. “It’s fine,” he finally said, trapping Ram’s hand between his cheek and his shoulder when he pulled it away from his hair to let it slide along his temple and down. Ram’s smile made his heart melt. 

“Promise me something,” Ram asked, using his thumb to stroke along King’s collar bone. 

“Anything,” King said, surprised to find that he meant it. 

“Don’t slip in the shower,” Ram said, biting his lip but unable to hide his grin. 

“You’re here to catch me,” King challenged, releasing his hand. Ram kept it where it was nevertheless. 

“What if I’m too distracted,” Ram asked, looking down between them and King felt himself blush. 

“I’ll try not to?” he suggested, and Ram smirked. Then he turned on the water. 

He should have been prepared for it, but the yelp that escaped him when the cold water hit them was very loud and very high pitched, and Ram, who had merely gasped at it, giggled and kissed him again. King wanted to pout, but couldn’t, as his lips were otherwise occupied. And as the water grew warmer, he finally dared to wrap his arms around Ram again. 

When Ram closed the distance between them, King wasn’t sure whether he could keep his promise, and when Ram moaned against his lips and dropped one hand between their bodies, he was fairly sure he couldn’t. Ram’s fingers wrapped around him, just holding him, learning the shape and weight of him, before he inhaled deeply and tightened his grip. King was amazed that, when he moaned, Ram echoed him. 

“Can I?” he asked, blinking water out of his eyes as he pulled away from the kiss. 

Ram nodded and King couldn’t help but smile, because it was a very particular kind of nod that corresponded to his usually somewhat panicked head-shaking when he really didn’t want something to happen. King had seen him shake his head like that often enough to be able to interpret the urgency behind his nod now. 

He took a small step back, putting more distance between them, and then he rested his forehead on Ram’s shoulder, letting his hand slide down his chest, over the tattoo across his ribcage and along the tattoo on his waist. When he wrapped his fingers around Ram’s erection, Ram mirrored him, resting his forehead on his shoulder, looking down. The sound of the water muffled their moans, but they didn’t hold back. After the first familiarization with each other, Ram blindly reached out and managed to find the shower gel without letting go of King, and then he flicked the bottle open and simply poured some across both of their hands. Because of their position, only a few drops of water fell between them, so they could spread it out evenly without it being washed away immediately. 

And King had not expected how much the slickness of the shower gel would add to the pleasure of having Ram touch him. Several times, his knees were close to buckling under him and he finally threw his free arm around Ram’s shoulder, holding himself up. But when Ram doubled over, his face pressed against King’s chest, King realised that neither of them were quite as steadfast as he had hoped. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, and Ram nodded against his chest, but he didn’t straighten. So King continued to stroke him, not being able to see now, and deciding that there would be another time for that. 

He felt Ram speed up a little and matched his rhythm, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to last much longer, and a little amazed that he hadn’t come yet. But when Ram suddenly closed his lips around his left nipple and began sucking, he lost any remaining control he had had. Biting down on his own arm which still lay around Ram’s shoulders, he came, and Ram matched his hips’ involuntary thrusts with his hand while his tongue did indecent things to his chest. 

For a few moments, King could only gasp for air, finding it hard to breathe in the heavy mist the hot water was creating around them. And when he finally felt like he could stand on his own again, he stood up straight, pulling Ram up with him. 

“Look at me?” King asked, framing his face with his free hand, his thumb pressing against the corner of Ram’s mouth. He couldn’t believe what that mouth had just done to him, and what other things it might be doing in the future. 

Ram’s eyes fluttered closed when he began to move his hand again, and King made an impatient noise. His eyes flew open again. 

“Look at me!” King repeated, sounding a little less desperate and a lot more in charge than the first time. Ram sagged a little, and he frowned, as if he wanted to defy King’s wishes, but chose not to. King smiled and pulled his hand from Ram’s face. He touched Ram’s stomach and then the lower part of his tattoo, and then he slipped his hand between his legs, slightly hysterical at the thought that he was allowed to do this to Ram, and then he took hold of his testicles while quickening his strokes. 

When he looked at Ram’s face again, he was still looking back at him and King leaned forward to kiss him. Before their lips met, Ram jerked, hard, and a desperate noise escaped him that drove a spark of heat directly into King’s groin. A moment later, Ram came, spurting across King’s stomach and gasping loudly. But he kept his eyes trained on King’s, like he had demanded. 

He continued to stroke him until Ram pushed his hand away, making an impatient noise. Ram pulled him back into his arms and held him tightly, his arms locked around his back. They stood like this for a while until King became aware of the fact that they were wasting a whole lot of hot water and he nudged Ram to step directly under the spray. 

Then he took the shower gel and began washing his back, amazed once again by how wide his shoulders were, and how small his waist, grinning when he squeezed his arse before slipping his hands around to take hold of him again. Even though he was entirely soft now, Ram moaned again when he touched him. Then he moved his hands up across his stomach to his chest and he squeezed, delighted by another moan that escaped Ram. He was unbelievably happy that he was so vocal, after all this silence between them. 

When he started washing himself, Ram turned around and pushed his hands away. Then he poured shower gel onto King’s chest and began rubbing. Because Ram still stood under the spray of the shower, King was soon covered in lather while Ram was already washed clean. 

“Switch,” he suggested and Ram turned them around, one hand on his hip, as if to make sure that King was stable. He had to chuckle and pushed Ram’s hair out of his face. Wet, it was long enough to cover his eyes and he couldn’t stand not seeing his eyes. Satisfied that Ram was looking at him again, he let the water rinse the lather off his body. 

Eventually they separated in order to make sure they were entirely clean, and when King switched off the shower, the sudden silence was deafening. Ram plucked a towel from the rack next to the shower and wrapped it around King, effectively trapping him in it. Then he hugged him again, and King realised that everything he had missed about Ram during the last week would only become worse to miss now that he knew how affectionate he was. He hoped they wouldn’t be spending any time apart anytime soon. 

“I like you,” Ram said against his neck, using the same phrase he had used on the bus and King felt his heart melt. 

“I love you,” he said, both glad and sorry not to be looking into Ram’s eyes right then. 

And Ram hugged him even more tightly for a moment before he kissed his neck and stepped back, pulling down another towel for himself. 

They dried themselves and when King went to unlock the door, Ram hugged him again from behind, kissing his shoulder. Then he apologised and stepped back, giving King room to open the door. King just shook his head and took Ram’s hand in his, pulling him into the bedroom. 

He was relieved to find that his sister hadn’t turned up yet. 

“Wait here for a second,” he told Ram, who rubbed at his hair with his towel. King took a moment to stare at his arse before he went to find his trousers in the hall, and pulled out his phone. 

_“I’m very tired after the train ride. Maybe don’t come by tonight? I’ll probably be asleep. See you tomorrow? I’ll come and see mom and dad. Good night.”_

Then he picked up the shards of the shattered flower pot and half-heartedly brushed the dirt to the side. He gently lifted the fallen plant from the ground and punched a small hole into the dirt of another pot before he carefully set it inside, covering its roots. Then he picked up his scattered clothes and his bag and returned to the bedroom. Ram sat on the bed, the towel around his hips now. King closed the door behind himself and Ram’s eyebrow twitched. 

For a moment, King was lost. After being unable to think straight and consumed with the need to touch him, he now felt much more self-conscious to be in the same room with him, especially since he was reminded of the day after the incident when he had secretly stared at Ram's almost naked body. But then Ram patted the spot next to him on the bed and King went to sit down, forgetting his embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry,” Ram said, looking very serious and King wondered whether anything had happened while he had been gone. “I didn’t know how else to … ask,” Ram clarified, reaching out to take King’s hand. “You were so nervous at the camp, and I did not want to make you feel uncomfortable. And I did not know how much you remembered.”

King closed his eyes and laughed, incredulous at his own fear. “I did not want to lose you,” he finally found his voice. “I woke up, that night after I got hurt. And you held me and I … I never wanted anything as much in my life.”

Ram’s expression melted into a smile. “Me, too,” he admitted. 

King shook his head and pulled up their hands, pressing a kiss to the back of Ram’s hand. “I’m sorry I told you to stay away from me. I couldn’t bear you holding me that night at camp. I couldn’t be so close without telling you what I felt and I couldn’t tell you.”

Ram nodded. “I know.”

“And I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“I know you were upset.”

Ram nodded. 

“I should have told you.”

“You did.” 

King shook his head. “Not when it mattered.”

Ram chuckled. “Oh, it mattered when you did.”

“I’m sorry I hit you.”

Ram pulled their intertwined hands against his chest. “Apology accepted.”

“You didn’t sleep?” King asked, carefully touching Ram’s cheekbones. 

“Did you?”

King shook his head. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Ram nodded his confirmation. 

“My grandma told me to bring you next time.”

Ram’s smile widened. “You told her about me?”

King felt himself blush. “During camp. She guessed. Kumfah told her about you and she asked me about you before I left.”

Ram looked a little shocked. 

“Will you come with me, next time?”

“Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?” Ram asked and King felt his cheeks burn. 

“I just told you that I love you,” he said incredulously and Ram looked away bashfully. “Fine,” King decided to humour him. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Ram bit his lips and nodded the same urgent nod he had used earlier when King had proposed to touch him. 

“Good,” King decided, letting go of Ram’s hand. “I have something for you.”

When Ram’s eyes moved down his body King had to laugh. “Not that. Well, that, too, though. But … okay, none of that for a moment.” He got up and opened his bag, pulling out the parcel his grandmother had given him for Ram. 

“I don’t know what it is, but my grandma gave it to me to give to you.”

Ram looked intrigued. 

“Here,” King handed it to him. “Open it.”

Ram weighed it carefully in his hand for a moment before he untied the string and carefully removed the wrapping paper. It was a painted bamboo photo frame that opened in the middle like a book. King's grandma had lots of frames like this one in her house and he was sure she had painted it by herself. It was full of leaves and jasmine blossoms. A letter peeked out between the two halves and Ram carefully pulled it out without opening the frame. 

_To Ram_ , it read. 

King noticed that Ram’s fingers were shaking as he opened the letter. He put it down on their touching knees so that King could read it, too. 

_Dear Ram,_

_please don’t be surprised by this gift. King’s older sister told me about you and while I know that not everything she says about King’s friends is true, she was very serious about you. And, well, King couldn’t stop thinking about you while he was here, so I hope this small gift won’t offend you. And I’m sure King will only give it to you if he’s certain he wants you to have it, because he knows that this wouldn’t just be a book._

_I look forward to meeting you. Welcome to the family!  
Grandma_

_PS: King only has pictures of plants, but maybe he will allow you to put this up if you are still staying with him._

_PPS: King, I’m sorry for taking this photo of you without telling you, but it’s lovely and I’m sure Ram will like it._

_PPPS: The other one came to me via your sister – I have no idea how she got it._

King looked up at Ram and found his eyes full of tears. “Hey, you haven’t even looked at the photos yet,” King said, wrapping his arm around Ram’s shoulders. But Ram shook his head and leaned against him and King pulled him into a proper hug. It took him a while to remember that he didn’t know whether Ram had had the chance to sort things out at home and he realised that his grandmother’s words probably meant a whole lot more to Ram than she could have realised. He kissed his hair and whispered endearments to him until Ram pulled back and wiped his face. “Sorry,” he sniffed and carefully put the letter down on the bed next to him before opening the frame. 

King couldn’t help but laugh. The left side of the frame held one of the pictures his nephews had taken of them after they had tumbled on top of each other after the piggy back ride in the park. Apparently, deleting the photos on his sister’s phone hadn’t been enough and he realised that they had probably been saved to the cloud immediately after being taken. Looking at it now, he found that they did look very much like they were about to kiss, and Ram wiped his face again before he leaned over to kiss King’s cheek. 

The other picture was of King sitting on the banister of the veranda in the evening light, the sky turning pink, looking at his phone in his hands. While it was very small, the image on his phone screen was very clearly Ram’s face. 

King felt himself blush when Ram looked at him with wonder in his eyes. He had no idea his grandmother had seen him stare at Ting Ting’s picture of them most evenings. He had always zoomed in as far as he could, until Ram’s face filled his screen, and he had imagined that Ram was looking back at him from his phone. He had felt silly for it, but he also couldn’t stop himself from doing it whenever he felt too lonely. 

“I looked at it, too,” Ram said, closing the frame and pressing it to his chest. “Your face, not mine,” he added with a smile. “And all the others.”

“Others?”

“The ones you took on the bus,” Ram shrugged. “And the one when Tee was trying to get more helpers.”

An embarrassing sound escaped King. Well, he had looked at that photo only after he had been in bed. Ram looked at him as if he guessed why King was embarrassed and King decided that he had no reason to be. He took the frame from Ram and picked up the letter, too, putting them both on the small table by the wall. 

“I told Kumfah not to come by because I was going to bed,” he announced and Ram’s smile widened. 

“Are you tired?” Ram asked, cocking his head. 

“Hmm. Exhausted. And so are you.”

Ram nodded. “And hungry.”

“Me, too, but I don’t think I can eat right now.”

“When do you think you will be able to eat again?”

King sighed and stepped closer to Ram. Then he put his hands on his shoulders and pushed. Ram giggled when King climbed into his lap and he pulled him down with him when he dropped onto his back. 

King smiled and pushed his hands into Ram’s hair before he began kissing down his neck. “After this.”


End file.
